Disposable absorbent articles, such as diapers, frequently utilize one or both of two types of leg cuffs, gasket leg cuffs and barrier leg cuffs. Gasket leg cuffs are used to seal the leg openings of the article about the wearer and to help prevent the leakage of body exudates from the article at the leg openings. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,860,003 issued Jan. 14, 1975 to Buell teaches a diaper having an elastically contractable side portion. U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,782 issued June 8, 1982 to Pieniak and U.S. Pat. No. 4,450,026 issued May 22, 1984 to Pieniak et al. teach diapers having an elastic film ribbon incorporated into the marginal edges of the diapers.
Barrier leg cuffs are utilized to provide improved containment of body exudates within the disposable absorbent article. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,704,115 issued Nov. 3, 1987 to Buell teaches a disposable garment having side edge leakage guard gutters which obviate inversion and unfolding during use by not encircling the thighs of the wearer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,178 issued Feb. 28, 1989, to Aziz et al. teaches a disposable article having leakage resistant flaps which are non-absorbent and liquid-impermeable.
Other variations of barrier cuffs have been proposed, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,452 issued Jan. 3, 1989 to Blaney et al. This reference teaches a disposable article having a cuff member with a cantilevered flap which provides a liquid-impermeable seal, a barrier wall which retards the flow of exudates and gasketing action about the legs of the wearer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,454 issued Jan. 3, 1989 to Dragoo teaches a disposable absorbent article having a barrier cuff with a distal edge and a proximal edge, with spacing means disposed at the distal edge and a seal formed at the proximal edge.
While many of the leg cuffs of the prior art are elasticized and elastically contractible, the prior art does not address how such elastication affects the comfort of the wearer, particularly with regard to red marking and the associated epidermal irritation, or how such leg cuffs may be utilized to advantageously shape the diaper. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a diaper having leg cuffs which are leakage resistant and yet optimize wearer comfort. In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a diaper having leg cuffs is provided, which leg cuffs have an ultimate contact force of less than about 270 grams per centimeter (1.5 pounds per inch) of width when elongated about 50 to about 350 per cent, and which have an incremental differential force of less than about 14 grams per centimeter of cumulative width of the elastic members.